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Nameless Ones
The Nameless Ones were an ancient cult who worshipped the Azath Houses.The Bonehunters, Glossary They considered themselves the "hands of the Azath", and "the shapers of the will of the Azath".The Bonehunters, Prologue, US SFBC p.30-31 It was their "task to hold all in place, to heal what is torn asunder, to lead our enemies into annihilation or eternal imprisonment". According to Trell legend, their origins dated back to the time of the First Empire.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 18 They had been one of two First Empire sects that were meant to clasp together as guiding hands. But the Nameless Ones had been led astray from their god and been cast out. Now they bowed to a new master and new mysteries.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 15, US HC p.415-416 It had been seen as a cult even in the days of the First Empire and was believed to have been expunged.Midnight Tides, Chapter 17, US SFBC p.535 The Nameless Ones dressed in dark or grey hooded robes and carried wooden staffs whose runic etching seemed to writhe and buckle. The runes seemed ever changing as if being continuously rewritten by unseen hands.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 3, US HC p.100Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 7, US HC p.191Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 23, US HC p.574 Beneath their hoods they sometimes wore grey veils that hid their faces.The Bonehunters, Prologue, US SFBC p.28 They were well versed in rituals of binding and unbinding, and were capable of reading the positions of stars, planets, and constellations for complex rites. In Deadhouse Gates Four Nameless Ones were found dead at the entrance to the maze surrounding Tremorlor in Raraku by a traveling party consisting of Mappo Runt, Icarium, Iskaral Pust, Apsalar, Crokus, Rellock, and Fiddler. Iskaral Pust, Shadowthrone's High Priest, spoke with disdain of the Nameless Ones, insisting that Dancer and the Talon had eradicated the cult at Kellanved's command. The Nameless Ones had earned the former Emperor's enmity due to vulnerable secrets (Kellanved's presumably) and their continued resentment of his entry into the Deadhouse.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 18 This claim was inadvertently verified by Apsalar, based on memories she retained from her possession by Cotillion.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 18 Mappo said that Kellanved's purge might have been successful within the Empire, however, Nameless Ones occasionally visited his tribe in the Jhag Odhan.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 18 Mappo admitted to Icarium that it was the Nameless Ones who had appointed the Jhag's guardians over the years.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 18 The ancient Jaghut, Gothos, informed Fiddler that the Nameless Ones had been so desperate to find the last guardian for Icarium that they had destroyed Mappo's settlement and blamed it on Icarium. Mappo, walking the bone strewn town of his birth, had volunteered to accompany Icarium to prevent the tragedy from ever happening again while ignorant of its true cause.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 23, US HC p.574Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 7, US HC p.191 In House of Chains It was revealed that B'ridys was an ancient monastery of the order and also that the Tanno claimed that their faith was a direct descendant of the Nameless Ones.House of Chains, Chapter 12 Onrack revealed that Logros, leader of his clan of the T'lan Imass, had ordered the First Throne removed from Seven Cities because the Nameless Ones were close to finding its the location. Whoever sat on the Throne commanded the T'lan Imass and Logros feared that should a priest of the Nameless Ones ascend the throne, they would order the T'lan Imass to voluntarily accept eternal imprisonment. Since Emperor Kellanved had once assumed the First Throne, and later also spent some time in the Azath, it baffled Onrack that he had not exploited the First Throne for his own gains to a fuller extent.House of Chains, Chapter 20 In Midnight Tides One of the Nameless Ones long ago travelled to Letheras with five Nerek witches where her adult soul was placed in the body of a deceased girl named Kettle. The undead child, who also contained the soul of a Forkrul Assail, became the Guardian of the dying Azath Tower.Midnight Tides, Chapter 14, US SFBC p.446-447 In The Bonehunters A group of twelve Nameless Ones, including Sister Spite, was responsible for releasing Dejim Nebrahl from his ancient warded prison. Once the ritual of release was complete, Spite left her fellows to be devoured by the T'rolbarahl.The Bonehunters, Prologue, US SFBC p.27-32 They also sent one of their own, a Semk assassin, to murder Mebra in Ehrlitan.The Bonehunters, Chapter 1, US SFBC p.66-67 They also employed the Gral tribesman Taralack Veed to replace Mappo Runt as Icarium's companion. It was revealed that the Nameless Ones and Shadowthrone were mutually concerned about the other's activities, or more precisely, lack of knowledge about the motivation behind those activities. A priest of the Nameless Ones assassinated Mebra before Apsalar reached him. It was revealed that, contrary to Mappo's belief that Icarium had murdered his clan, it had been the Nameless Ones who had done the deed in order to manipulate Mappo into becoming Icarium's protector. Tales among the Nameless Ones indicated that an invasion of skykeeps had arrived on the Malazan world long ago when Human society existed only as small bands. But some opposition by the Jaghut, the Forkrul Assail, or the Elder Gods had driven them away from Seven Cities.The Bonehunters, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.152-153 Notable Nameless Ones *SpiteThe Bonehunters, Prologue Notes and references de:Die Namenlosen Category:Priests and acolytes